POST 1: A Cartoon by Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune - 5/16/2008

POST 1: A Cartoon by Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune - 5/16/2008

THE IDEA OF PROGRESS

A Fanatic Geek at the Cannes Film Festival

(by Patrick Chappatte, published in The International Herald Tribune on 05/16/2008) 

Patrick Chapatte (or just Chapatte), is a well known Lebanese-Swiss cartoonist known for working for extremely important magazines such as Le Temps, Neue ZÜrcher Zeitung (Sunday Edition) and the International New York Times. Born in 1967 in Pakistan and raised in Singapore and Switzerland, many of his cartoons reflect events in Swiss and international news such as the Swiss People's Party. He has also made cartoon series illustrating  the 9/11 attacks and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Chapatte is currently living between Los Angeles and Geneva, and gives talks and conferences about "The Power of Cartoons" or art and documentation projects, all around the world and in front of diverse audiences.

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Now let's analyse this cartoon made by Chapatte about the Cannes International Film Festival and published by the International Herald Tribune (we have no clue of the publication date). 

The cartoon is set at the entrance of the Cannes International Film Festival that we can recognise by the red carpet that is lying on the floor and the huge amount of people and paparazzi in the background. In the front of the picture, we can see a glamorous couple, a very good-looking woman wearing a night dress and who seems to be a film director that is signing autographs to a fan. The fan seems to be a teenager, he is also wearing a printed t-shirt with an "@" printed on it (which symbolizes the internet). It is made up of a drawing with a caption pronounced by the fan; "I LOVE YOUR MOVIES. I'VE PIRATED THEM ALL". The star that is signing the autograph seems to be annoyed by what the boy just said. The teenager's message is clearly contradictory as the fan loves his films but doesn't collaborate or pay for watching it. The author of the cartoon clearly wants to criticize the hypocrisy of people that pirate movies online, knowing that it is illegal and it contributes to the destruction of the film industry even if they are big film-lovers. 

The message put across by Chapatte is an accusation to everybody that downloads movies online. 

In my opinion, the document is pretty well designed as it is just a cartoon, but it reflects really well a serious message as illegal download of cinematographic content. I also personally think that it is really convincing as if the author punched you by your own hypocrisy. I approve the document and it issues as I think that making movies is a terribly hard job that should be payed back and not stolen from the internet, it is unfair. 

In my opinion this issue can be solved by the use of new online platforms, such as Netflix, where you just have to pay a pretty reasonable amount of money per month and you are ready to have access to films and series that you can watch whenever you want. 

Let's just enjoy the cinema by a legal and fair way.

WHICH KEY ISSUE(S) DOES THIS CARTOON RAISE IN RELATION TO 

THE IDEA OF PROGRESS?

IN WHAT WAY COULD IT BE USED TO ILLUSTRATE IT?

-KEY ISSUES RAISED BY THE CARTOON IN RELATION WITH THE IDEA OF PROGRESS: 

1) Could the internet be a threat to culture and art? 

OR CONVERSELY

Can the internet encourage artistic creation and spread of culture?

2) Is the younger generation actually aware of illegal practices when it comes to culture on the internet? 

3) Does the internet really empitomize the idea of progress?

OR

Can we argue that it also shows its limits?

The Internet is a tool used worldwide and thanks to which human communication is possible. Everybody uses the internet everyday, young students, adults, teachers, elder people, as it has many different usses and it offers a huge amount of information and cultural content (films, series, news, music, networks...). The Internet makes human life easier in every life aspect and makes it evolve and progress.

THE IDEA OF PROGRESS

1. Read the definitions and fill in the gaps with suitable words.

PROGRESS

1. Forward movement, as toward a goal . Advance .  Development . _Increase_ =

                                    =======>> _Quantity_

2. Gradual betterment . Steady / Progressive  _Improvement_ of society / civilization / humankind.

                                    =======>> _Quality_

2. Brainstorming: Here is a list of questions you must ask yourself about the notion. Complete the blanks.

What type of progress?

technological / scientific / social / economic / medical / cultural (artistic) /educational  /environmental (ecological) / political/ nutritional/ (...)

Who are the people concerned?

individuals / companies / governments / politicians/ students (young people)/scientists / artists/ associations (NGOs, charities)/trade unions /labor unions/ religious authorities/ teachers/ (...)

Which period of time is concerned?

the past / the present / the future/ another time dimension (utopia or dystopia, uchronia)/(...)

What is at stake?

medical issues / physical performances / technical advances / innovations / dehumanization / domination / environmental issues / animal rights / place of women in society / race relations / social inequalities / economic opportunities / globalization / new cultural movements / historical events/ solidarity between nations/human communication(...)

What are the advantages and disadvantages (= drawbacks) / the pros  and cons / the upside and  downside?

The are many possible advantages such as finding cures for illnesses or technological improvement, but that could also take to find out news ways of killing or new types weapons. Also the fact of replacing people for machines in certain jobs, that is not a way a progress as many people would lose their job and unemployment would increase.  There are limits that should be respected to keep everybody’s well being.

Is it profitable (=profit-making/ beneficial)  or is it potentially dangerous  (risky/ hazardous)

for human beings? Why?

Progress is in some ways beneficial and can in other ways be risky as human society can surpass ethic limits when it comes to find out power.

Is the impact positive or negative?  For whom?

The impact can be both positive and negative. Of course human progress is supposed to make our life better and easier but there can always be a bad turning point, as humans tend to be too ambitious and that can make them blind and not see their own mistakes.

Can we afford to reject progress  or can’t we do without it (nowadays & in future)?

We can’t afford rejecting progress as for the moment it has taken us very far in all life aspects. However, catastrophes such as wars can always happen, humans need to be aware of limits that should not be surpassed.

Can’t we improve on the idea of progress  commonly accepted  in  our  modern world and consumer society? If so, how?

We can improve the idea of progress and make people accept it and make new generations aware of it, to make them better than last generations so they learn about humanity’s mistakes.

3. Build up your vocabulary

Complete the grid during the school-year with words and phrases suitable for the notion

UPSIDE / THE PROS	TYPES OF PROGRESS	DOWNSIDE / THE CONS
Enable  people to work  more efficiently  / improve our living standard  / ...	Technological progress	Cut people off from the real world /  lose touch with nature  / ...
Increase the knowledge  of  the world  / discover new materials  / ...	Scientific progress	Raise  ethical issues  /  create new inequalities  /  ...
Upgrade education  /  reduce gender and racial discrimination  / ...	Social progress	Lose traditional values  /  disrupt conservative lifestyles  /  ...